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U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation
 
2111 West Roosevelt Road
Chicago, Illinois 60608
(312) 421-6700
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2007

Chicago FBI Press Office
Phone: (312) 829-1199

 

THIS WEEK IN CHICAGO FBI HISTORY

 

On September 25, 1937, 72-year old Chicago businessman Charles S. Ross, President of the Carrington Greeting Card Company, was kidnapped at gunpoint while driving near Franklin Park, Illinois. Despite being paid a ransom of $50,000, Ross was murdered by his kidnappers. His body was found in a shallow grave near Spooner, Wisconsin, four months later, along with one of his abductors. The remaining kidnapper and mastermind of the plot, John Henry Seadlund, was arrested by FBI Agents at Santa Anita race track in Los Angeles on January 14, 1938, following an extensive nationwide manhunt. Seadlund was returned to Chicago were he was tried and convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Ross. Seadlund was executed for this crime on July 13, 1938.

On September 29 and 30, 1982, seven Chicago area residents ingested Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. Within a matter of hours, all seven were dead. The murders triggered the largest product tampering investigation in the history of modern law enforcement, with nearly 120 investigators from various state and local law enforcement agencies and FBI Special Agents working around the clock to identify the person or persons responsible for the poisonings.  No one was ever charged with the murders, although a 37-year old New York man, James Lewis, was charged with attempting to extort $1 million dollars from Johnson and Johnson, the makers of Tylenol. Lewis was convicted of the attempted extortion following a trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Tylenol poisonings led to the passage of a stringent Federal anti-product tampering act in 1983.

Editor’s Note: This release is part of a weekly series designed to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which will be celebrated on July 26, 2008. Additional facts about the history of the FBI are available on-line at www.fbi.gov.